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Contingency plan for Zarosians

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Dan-i-el

Dan-i-el

Posts: 84 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
So, recent events have landed the entire Zarosian player base in quite some turmoil, but there's enough news and threads about that already, so allow me to simply get straight down to business.

If Jagex absolutely insists on continuing this path, which of course we should strive to avoid, if at all possible, we do need to also start planning for the worst, that is afterall what we Zarosians do best, there's no need to stop now.

I propose, that should we lose Zaros, we continue the faction by lobbying enough support for a new Pontifex Maximus (Either an npc who takes over in the aftermath, or, possibly an elected player, although that'd be much harder to control).
This new head of faction would become the mouthpiece of Zarosian players, allowing Zarosians to carry on, and allowing for a player vote on the new path for the faction.
In other words, the players literally become the faction.

An unusual proposal, and even if we fail to get anything official added to game, I believe we should still come together to carry the faction on unofficially.
Now, this is an idea that's still newly formed in my head. We need to get more Zarosian players here to discuss, develop and hopefully establish a fully-fledged plan for the future of Zarosian players, in Zaros' own words, "The God may die, but the idea is eternal". If we cannot have Zaros, we can still have our beliefs, not even Zaros himself is above the Zarosian ideals.

Bandosian players and anyone else who may feel discontent with how their faction has been treated are also more than welcome here, there's absolutely no reason this should extend only to Zarosians, this could become a thread to spark a revolution of ideas and content for major factions in RS. Together we can improve the player experience and save our factions from wasting potential, both in gameplay and in story, as a community.

Together, WE are Zaros, we are legion!

28-Feb-2021 13:54:37

Androme

Androme

Posts: 6,474 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
That doesn't make any sense.

For all of Jagex's attempts at attributing virtues and attributes to all the gods, Zaros does not really "represent Fate" or "represent Control". Zaros is Zaros, he was the Emperor of the Zarosian Empire, and he arrived in Gielinor not to "spread faith in Fate & Control", but to expand his Empire, expand his power, and as Jagex has declared through the lore recently; become an Elder God by any means necessary.

What I'm trying to say is that, there's no "ideology" surrounding Zaros, like there are to most other gods.

No one should care about the lore of this game so much that they find themselves in a situation where they feel like they have to "carry on" the faction once "betrayed" by their formerly favourite NPC.

The story has mostly average writing at best.

28-Feb-2021 14:26:15

Dan-i-el

Dan-i-el

Posts: 84 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Incorrect, the Zarosian ideology, in it's simplest terms, is to push yourself and those around you to improve, maximise potential and in turn society will start to improve as well.

It could be interpreted in various ways depending on if you're Christian, Buddhist, hindu, or even Northern pagan, all of which have some message to seek enlightenment of both body and mind.

Plus after playing the game for over 10 years now as a Zarosian, you start to genuinely care for it anyway.

Whilst other factions may have similar approaches, none do so in a way I can vibe with.

And to counter the point about mediocrity... Well that's kinda the point in this thread, to improve it to a higher grade.
Furthermore, people have invested years into this game, each for their own reasons, but after so many years the least these players deserve is the right to keep their faction.

28-Feb-2021 15:00:51

Marcin K
Nov Member 2008

Marcin K

Posts: 273 Silver Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
my thoughts on this (as a devout Zarosian):

A) player as Pontifex Maximus should be avoided at all costs and treated as a absolute final resort doomsday scenario

B) The Zarosians should remain as active as possible to make sure the bosses (as in Jagex) won't just turn a blind eye to the issue

C) as was discussed elsewhere (for ex. Quick find code: 341-342-208-66204870 ) We must consider that there may be a "split" within the Zarosian faction (mainly due to Azzy - see other thread for details) - but what I have not seen mentioned anywhere else is that NEX is a Zarosian General - It is worth at least the mental exercise to consider her taking Azzy's place IF our fears are confirmed and IF the doom scenario comes

edit: D) it is stated nowhere in the lore (that I know of, but may be wrong) that other Zarosians cannot "remove" Pontifex Maximus if his "instability" is evident and thus is unable to carry the duties to the betterment of the entire Zarosian faction - counter-Azzy insurrection PLOT TWIST (!?)

28-Feb-2021 15:10:04 - Last edited on 28-Feb-2021 15:12:41 by Marcin K

Deltaslug

Deltaslug

Posts: 32,671 Sapphire Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Zaros has a plan. He is wanting to deal with a crisis that has been brewing (to him) for thousands of years.
Only Guthix, Seren, and the Dragonkin were aware of it.
Kerapac was the first to try to do something about it, and it didn't go well. His second plan might have worked ... with a few side effects. Guthix did something about it, and even then, it was a stop gap.

Zaros thinks Seren's plan isn't going work ... Kerapac agreed.

There aren't many options left on the table.

Given what would happen if the eggs hatch, he's not wrong in taking a course of action that is direct, even if other parties won't agree with it.

However, I think his backup plan is rather ... crude: the World Guardian.

If his plan backfires in any one of a number of ways, the World Guardian is still there.
The World Guardian would still have credibility. (Say you were duped or used. Say you agreed with his plan up to the point of how he intended to implement it. Something ... )

28-Feb-2021 15:16:25

Dennorak
Jul Member 2020

Dennorak

Posts: 4,414 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
edit: D) it is stated nowhere in the lore (that I know of, but may be wrong) that other Zarosians cannot "remove" Pontifex Maximus if his "instability" is evident and thus is unable to carry the duties to the betterment of the entire Zarosian faction - counter-Azzy insurrection PLOT TWIST (!?)

I don't think the Pontifex Maximus is exactly a Democratically elected official....

There would be no "legal" avenues to remove the office I would think in the Empire, unless Zaros himself came in and said it needed to happen.

That's also sort of ignoring the title of Pontifex Maximus is sort of useless in the modern day, there is no Zarosian Church around to have such a title carry any meaning at all.
Zamorakian Lorehound, Flame of Chaos member, Bilrach enthusiast

28-Feb-2021 18:00:37

Dan-i-el

Dan-i-el

Posts: 84 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Then consider this something akin to the splitting of the Roman empire.

As I previously stated, my belief in Zarosianism isn't so much Zaros himself, although that certainly would be a tragic loss, but rather the actual philosophy, of which, it is every Zarosian's duty to uphold even if our own God, or any of his appointed officials become corrupted or incapable of performing this duty.

Whilst the Church may not exactly have a larger following, the duty of a pontifex goes beyond mere religion, it's a position expected to hold a lot of responsibility in things such as philosophy, education and magical and possibly even scientific knowledge, these last two seem to be shared in various extents with praetorians too.
Although that said, the lack of numbers right now would demand we improvise, adapt and overcome, so if roles, titles and responsibilities need to shift to ensure survival, then so be it.

Normally a pontifex maximus would be elected by lesser clergymen, or appointed by zaros directly, however, it's apparent that a new method of appointment is necessary, thus logically it makes sense to hold a vote among the remaining followers, the last thing we need now is even more schisms, so middle ground will have to be made. Our purpose now isn't empire building anyway, we're more like scientists, mages, advisors and scholars now. Pushing society to improve themselves.

Sidenote: think of my vision of Zarosianism more like Buddhism, Saitama, or the most famous Buddha for example, was a Buddhist and a Hindu, we can adopt a similar approach to help integrate better, our goal is societal and inner growth, not proselyting.

28-Feb-2021 18:41:24

Jennatix

Jennatix

Posts: 15 Bronze Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I think it'll be Azzanadra that ends up being the new Pontifex Maximus of the faction. As loyal as Azzanadra is to Zaros, I think even with him there is a point at which he could realize he is too far gone. Just as Seren was forced to have to put down Mah.

I don't think it will be an easy road till that point, of course.

Azzanadra did say after Endgame he could feel he was approaching godhood. It would be almost fitting that the character that probably is the leading cause of most of the Zarosian playerbase being Zarosian in the first place, ends up as the one to succeed him. This is under the assumption that, if it does happen, Azzanadra stops being the player's enemy (I feel the only reason he is, is because Zaros commanded him to cut ties with us.)

In some ways I can almost see it as a backup plan of Zaros's idea of stopping the Elder Gods. Either become an elder god and thus powerful enough to stop them himself, or become powerful enough to pose an actual, real threat to them and be defeated by mortals. Then the Elder Gods end up realizing the worth of mortal life due to the fact that they were effectively saved by them (and probably in the process weakened enough that they know they would be in a position to still be destroyed by like, Xau-Tak, if they still destroyed mortal life afterwards, and if mortal life was able to stop Zaros - then perhaps they could be of use in that situation...)

28-Feb-2021 20:41:48

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